Box or package fastener



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

I. W. RICHEY. BOX 0R PACKAGE FASTENER.

No. 580,466. Patented A r. 13, 1897.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. F. W. RIOHEY. BOX 0R PACKAGE PASTBNER.

No. 580,466. Patented Apr. 13, 1897.

5 57 7 ,5 l l a h 4 j cxfier igzsses Em F kWR' 1 I 6 1 y 111's jhro ram 10 0%. 7 g Q J FRANK WILLIAM RICHEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BOX OR PACKAGE FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 580,466, dated April 13, 1897.

Application filed January 30, 1896. Serial Not 577,889. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK WILLIAM RIOHEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Box or Package Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

This invention aims to provide an improved fastener for wooden boxes, butter-tubs, tobacco-pails, jelly-buckets, oyster-pails, and other wooden packages, and for binding shingles, and which can be utilized for other purposes Where a clasp comprising points and a body is required.

The improvement consists, essentially, of the fastener comprising a body portion having a flattened part, and one or more integral points extending about at right angles to the body and provided with a well-defined head formed by having the said flattened part projecting beyond the sides of the point in all directions, said head being sufficiently hard to receive the blows or force applied to drive the point into the body of the package, box, or pail or other part to which the fastener is to be applied.

In constructing the fastener a blank or length of Wire is provided, and its end portions are bent substantially at right angles to the body portion and are nail-cut or pointed, and the body portion is flattened over and opposite the points, so as to provide drivingheads, the body portion being flattened for a short distance from the points or throughout its length, as required.

The improvement further consists of a fastener comprising a flattened body portion and driving-points integral with the body portion and set in from the ends and sides thereof a sufficient distance so as to provide heads to the driving-points corresponding to the heads of tacks, brads, wire nails, and similar fastenings.

The improvement also further consists in certain novel features which hereinafter will be more particularly set forth, illustrated, and claimed, and it is to be understood that in constructing and adapting the invention for the various uses and purposes for which it is susceptible of application changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows the invention applied as a box-fastener. Fig. 2 shows the improved fastener as it will appear when securing a cover to a bucket, pail, or like package. Fig. 3 shows the device used as a shingle binder. Fig. 4 shows a blank or length of wire prior to forming the same into the fastener. Fig. 5 shows the ends of the blank or wire bent to provide the points. Fig. 6 shows the body of the blank flattened and the points headed. Fig. 7 shows a fastener especially constructed for securing the ends of boxes, crates, and packages of like construction. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the end portion of a fastener.

Similar and corresponding parts are designated in the subjoined description and all the figures of the drawings by like referencecharacters.

The length and size of the fastener will vary and depend upon the style and character of the package, crate, boX, pail, or tub for which it is especially constructed, and the length and style of the points will likewise vary under the same conditions.

The followingmethod is resorted to in constructing the fastener, and consists in selecting a wire of proper gage, cutting the same into the requisite lengths, so as to form the blanks,bending the end portions of the blanks to form the points, and then simultaneously flattening the blank and heading the points, the latter operation being effected in any ap proved way which will admit of the fasteners being constructed economically and on a commercial basis.

The completed fastener will comprise a body portion 1, points 2, and heads 3, all integrally formed and the heads 3 projecting beyond the sides of the points 2 and forming a continuation of the flattened body portion. For ordinary purposes the points will be of about equal length, but when the device is constructed for securing boxes, crates, and like packages one of the points, as 4, will be made comparatively long, so as to be driven through a side of the box and into the end of the adjacent side, thereby acting in the capacity of a nail of ordinary construction. The parts 2 will be nail-cut or pointed, so as to readily penetrate the material of the package or box into which the points may be driven.

For packages it is preferred to have the body portion of the fastener flattened throughout its length, whereby the desired flexibility is attained and objectionable projections 0bviated, since the flattened form will allow the body portion of the fastener to lie close against the sides of the package the same as a strip of sheet metal.

When applying the invention to boxes or like packages,the long or nail point lis driven across the joint between the adjacent ends of two sides and the body portion of the fastener is bent overthe corner and the short point driven into the adjacent side, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

By constructing the fastener of wire of proper gage the end portions when bent are in condition to be driven into the package in the same manner as a nail or tack, and the body portion can be flattened by suitablyconstructed machinery economically and Without waste of material. Moreover, the cost of such operation is but very little in excess of the outlay required to head the points, since all that is required is to extend the dies to take in the body portion and to increase the pressure or force.

Where the fastener is constructed to be used as a shingle fastener or binder, the middle or intermediate portion of the body is left intact and the end portions only are flattened, so as to be bent over the shingles or the strips applied thereto. The flattening of the body of the blank condenses and hardens the heads 3 and enables the latter to withstand the blows or force necessary to drive the points into hard wood, such as oak or knotty timber.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A fastener for the purpose set forth, comprising a flattened strip or body having an integral point extending about at right angles to the flattened strip, and having portions of the latter touching and projecting beyond the sides of the point in all directions, substantially as described for the purpose specified.

2. A box or package fastener formed from a wire blank having its ends bent about at right angles to provide points, and having the portion of the blank adjacent to the points flattened and projecting beyond the sides of the points in all directions, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A new article of manufacture, a boxfastener form ed from a single length or blank of wire having its end portions bent about at right angles to provide driving-points of unequal length, the longer point being sufficiently long to be driven across the joint between the adjacent ends of two sides, andhaving the body or main portion of the blank between the points flattened and projecting beyond the sides of the points in all directions, substantially as shown for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

FRANK WILLIAM RICHEY.

Witnesses:

N. L. THOMAS, M. F. RIcHEY. 

